Shomi Kaiser | |
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শমী কায়সার | |
 Kaiser in 2016 | |
| Born | 15 January 1970 |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
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Shomi Kaiser is a Bangladeshi actress and political activist. [1] [2] She is currently the managing director of Dhansiri Communications Ltd, an advertising and event management company. [3]
Kaiser was born to Shahidullah Kaiser and Panna Kaiser (née Saifunnahar Chowdhury) on 15 January 1970. [4] [5] She belongs to a Bengali family originally from the village of Majupur in Sonagazi, Feni District. Her grandfather, Mawlana Mohammad Habibullah, was a professor at the Calcutta Alia Madrasa and later the Dacca Alia Madrasa. [6] Her father was a writer-novelist. Shomi Kaiser was two years old when her father was taken from home by Al Badr militia and Pakistani Army on 14 December, 1971. His body was never found. Her mother, Panna Kaiser, was a writer and former M.P. [7]
Shomi Kaiser has a younger brother, Amitav Kaiser. [7] Their maternal uncle is former president of Bangladesh A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, whose wife, Maya, is the sister of Panna Kaiser. [8]
Shomi Kaiser received her first break In 1989, when director Atiqul Haque Chowdhury was looking for a young actress who could speak Noakhali dialect for his play Keba Apon Keba Por. [9] Next she worked on the three episode play Joto Durey Jai, based on a novel by Imdadul Haque Milon, directed by Abdullah al Mamun. [9] She worked for Dhaka Theatre for 12 years. [10] She appeared in Haat Hodai (with Shahiduzzaman Selim). She appeared in such films as Hason Raja (2002) and Lalon (2004). She was featured in Ekti Nadir Naam (2002), based on the biography of filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. [9] She later emerged as a producer. She has owned Dhansiri Productions since 1997, [10] which produced Mukti and Antorey Nirantor. [9] In November 2013, her firm, Dhanshiri Communication Limited, got a license for a private radio channel named Radio Active. [11]
In 2017, Kaiser was elected as one of the directors of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). In 2018, she was elected as the president of e-Commerce Association (e-CAB). [12] At the aftermath of 2024 non-cooperation movement, she resigned from the position on 13 August 2024. [13]
She was nominated in the election as a representative of the Sammilita Ganotantrik Parishad panel. [14]
In November 2018, Kaiser applied for nomination for the Feni-3 constituency on behalf of Bangladesh Awami League party. [15]
Kaiser has been married three times. Her first husband was Indian-Bengali film director Riingo Banerjee, whom she married in 1999 and divorced two years later. [16] [17] Her second husband, Mohammad A. Arafat, is a private university faculty member, whom she married in 2008 and divorced in 2015. [16] [17] In 2020, she married her third husband, Reza Amin, the chief executive officer of Euro-Vigil Private Limited. [3] [17] [18]
Shomi Kaiser took a stand for the government during the repression of the autocratic Awami League government on the students in the quota reform movement that took place in 2024. [19] During the movement, a group of pro-autocracy Awami artists, including Shomi Kaiser, were active against the movement in a WhatsApp group called 'Alo Ashbei' [20] led by actor Ferdous. After the non-cooperation movement, on September 3, 2024, some screenshots related to that WhatsApp group were spread on social media. [21] [22] Shomi Kaiser went into hiding after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on 5 August 2024. She was arrested on 6 November 2024 by the police from a house in Sector-4 Uttara on murder chargers. [23]
Matia Chowdhury was a Awami League leader and one of the key perpetrators of the July massacre orchestrated and executed by Sheikh Hasina's toppled regime. She died while awaiting trial for crimes against humanity due to her active involvement in the violent suppression of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement during the Student–People's uprising.
Shahidullah Kaiser was a Bangladeshi novelist and writer. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1969, Ekushey Padak in 1983 and Independence Day Award in 1998.
Suborna Mustafa is a Bangladeshi television, film and stage actress. She is a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Reserved Women's Seat-4 from 2019 to 2024. She is a member of Bangladesh Awami League party.
Bangladesh Chhatra League, formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, simply called the Chhatra League, is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and designated as a terrorist organisation in Bangladesh.
Ferdous Ahmed is a Bangladeshi film actor, producer, and politician. He served as an MP representing the Dhaka-10 constituency.
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Riaz Uddin Ahamed Siddique, popularly known as Riaz, is a Bangladeshi film actor, producer, and television presenter who has appeared in more than 100 Bengali films in genres ranging from romance to action to comedies. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including three National Film Awards and seven Meril Prothom Alo Awards. He portrayed the famous literary character, Shuvro, created by Humayun Ahmed, in Daruchini Dip.
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Jyotika Jyoti is a Bangladeshi actress. Her first film, Ayna, directed by Kabori Sarwar, was released in 2005. The next two important releases were Nondito Noroke by Belal Ahmed and Rabeya by Tanvir Mokammel. Later she acted in Tanvir Mokammel's film Jibondhuli and Azad Kalam's Bedeni. Jyoti also acted in a number of short film. her first short film named Break Up was in 2010. she acted in seven short film till 2019. In 2015, she appeared in Morshedul Islam's Anil Bagchir Ekdin as Atoshi, Anil's sister. Jyoti starred in Grash, production of which began in 2013. It was released in 2017.
Aruna Biswas is a Bangladeshi television, stage and film actress. She is also a television drama director.
Masud Pathik is a Bangladeshi filmmaker, poet and lyricist. His feature films Nekabborer Mohaproyan (2014) won seven and Maya: The Lost Mother (2019) won eight Bangladesh National Film Awards. Individually, he won the Best Lyrics and Best Story awards. For his poetry, he won the 2013 HSBC Kali O Kalam award for his poem Ekaki Jomin. He won 2023 Bangla Academy Literary Award in the playwright category.
Panna Kaiser was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a member of Jatiya Sangsad selected for the women's reserved seats during 1996–2001. She was awarded 2021 Bangla Academy Literary Award in the research on liberation war category.
Liaquat Ali Lucky is a Bangladeshi actor, director, singer, composer and cultural organiser. He served as director general of Shilpakala Academy from April 2011 to August 2024. He was awarded Ekushey Padak by the Government of Bangladesh in 2019. As of 2018, he has acted in 58 theatre plays and directed 82 plays.
Zinat Sanu Swagata (Bengali: জিনাত শানু স্বাগতা); better known as Swagata is a Bangladeshi actress, presenter and musician.
Shahnoor is a Bangladeshi actress and model who acted jn films and television dramas and became model in TVCs. Her most notable works include Hajar Bachhor Dhore, Sahoshi Manush Chai, Swapner Bashor, Noyon Vora Jol.
Badrul Anam Saud is a Bangladeshi film director and scriptwriter. He won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director and Best Dialogue for the film Gohin Baluchor (2017).
Mohammad A. Arafat is a Bangladeshi academic and politician. He is a former minister of state for information and broadcasting and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Dhaka-17 constituency in 2023–2024.
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